The Wharton School of Business located at the University of Pennsylvania was rated the top graduate program in the area of finance. "U.S. News and World Report" rated schools according to a number of criteria including its most important criteria, faculty surveys that were issued nationwide to faculty members. Wharton's program heavily emphasizes theoretical and empirical research in modern finance. According to its website, its primary areas of emphases within the PhD program are "asset pricing and portfolio management, corporate finance, international finance, financial institutions and macroeconomics." (http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/doctoral/programs/finance/) Faculty members at the Wharton School are among the most well-respected in the academic community, and their research is considered to be cutting-edge.
University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School
420 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-6183
wharton.upenn.edu/doctoral/index.cfm
Ranked second only to the Wharton School, the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business offers an innovative PhD in financial economics. The degree program is a joint-venture between the school of business and the school of economics that was started in 2006. Because of the obvious connection between the disciplines of economics and finance, the two schools merged their degree programs in order to give students the benefits of a broad spectrum of instruction from both departments. Students may also choose to work only in the area of finance if they choose by focusing on one of four areas: securities, finance and investment, corporate governance and the regulation and management of financial institutions.
University of Chicago
Graduate School of Business
5807 S. Woodlawn Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 702-7369
ChicagoGSB.edu
New York University's (NYU) Leonard N. Stern School of Business ranked third among all business schools in the area of finance. The NYU program covers all areas of finance and researches the primary forces that drive financial markets and financial management within those markets. The faculty members at NYU are some of the most prolific in the academic world in terms of publishing and in terms of participation in the editorial process for various major financial journals. (http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/finance/academic.cfm?doc_id=1232) PhD graduates from NYU go on to pursue rewarding careers in other graduate business programs, including the Wharton School. Major areas of emphasis include asset pricing, behavioral finance, corporate finance, derivatives, financial econometrics and market microstructure.
New York University (Stern)
Leonard N. Stern School of Business
44 W. Fourth St.
New York, NY 10012-1126
(212) 998-0600
stern.nyu.edu